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Lisa Montez painted portraits of dogs at Animal Care Services shelter in December 2016 in an effort to help get the dogs adopted. Later that month the dogs were transferred to San Antonio in the wake of a water use ban in Corpus Christi. Some of them were adopted in San Antonio, while others remain in shelters around the state.(Photo: Contributed/Lisa Montez)

"When taking pictures to base the paintings on, I spent a little time with each dog and they were all so sweet," Montez said. "All the dogs deserve a home, but unfortunately not all of them get a home."

Montez chose the city's shelter because if dogs housed there do not get adopted after some time, they get euthanized.

She completed about six paintings, which the shelter hung on its walls so the adoptive families could take them, too. But before the dogs could be adopted in Corpus Christi, they were transferred to a San Antonio Shelter in the wake of a four-day water ban in the city.

Lisa Montez painted a portrait of a dog housed at the Corpus Christi Animal Care Services in an effort to get him adopted.(Photo: Contributed/Lisa Montez)

Shelter staff said some of the dogs were adopted in San Antonio and families drove down to Corpus Christi to pick up the paintings. Other dogs remain at rescue shelters around the state.

"(Her paintings) showed me and my staff that the support from the community is out there," said Capt. William Broyles, who oversees Animal Care Services. "Everyone in the community has a different talent and almost everyone loves animals. What she did is fantastic and the paintings are really good."

Montez's first canine muse was her dog Kody, a 3-year-old golden retriever mix. Then she painted her friends' dogs until moving onto the dogs at the shelter.

Since December, Montez has completed one more painting with a summer theme and plans to do more after she is done with classes this semester, she said.

Lisa Montez adopted Kody about three years ago. She hopes more people adopt at local shelters and rescue animals.(Photo: Contributed/Evelyn Cerise)

"I follow the shelter's Facebook page and it makes me sad to see updates and see when (the dogs) are not getting adopted," Montez said. "I hoped that if people saw that someone sat down and took the time to paint dogs that are in the shelter, it would influence them to adopt one."

Isabel Araiza is an associate professor of sociology at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi who has taught Montez the past two years.

She said it was refreshing to see Montez trying to make a change in her community.

"There's a lot of people out there who want to make their community better and Lisa is one of them," Araiza said. "That's the nature of our sociology students, they study society and groups and there's a lot of them out there doing wonderful things. She wants to make her community a better place."

Montez said anyone who would like a painting of their pet can email her a photo at lisatmontez@gmail.com.

Lisa Montez painted portraits of dogs at Animal Care Services shelter in December 2016 in an effort to help get the dogs adopted.(Photo: Contributed)

HOW TO HELP

Fill out an application to volunteer at the Animal Care Services from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday at 2626 Holly Road. Information: CCACS Volunteer Program Administrator at 361-826-4624.